Tiller, a 17-year veteran, was off duty when she became the first female Albuquerque police officer to be slain. Overall, she was the 13th officer killed.

Originally from Laguna Pueblo, she had been the lone female Indian officer on the force. The department has 896 sworn officers, 103 of them female.

Early reports said she had been shot in the head, but Galvin would not confirm that Thursday because he said he didn't want to compromise the investigation.

The state Office of the Medical Investigator was conducting an autopsy to determine the time of death, Galvin said.

Fay, who had known Tiller since she joined the force Feb. 17, 1981, said Tiller was well-loved at the department, where the mood was somber. Some officers wore a black strip of ribbon over their badges.

"Cheryl had the biggest heart in the world, and I'm sure that's what got her killed," Fay said.

"She was real good. As a matter of fact, she had a particular affinity toward making sure that street people and homeless people and the disenfranchised like that find their way," he said.

"Some people were just out there because they were fringe and borderline psychologically that she was getting pretty close to in a professional way, trying to make sure that they had their needs - homeless shelter, things like that - worked out," Fay said Thursday.

Many homeless people knew her by her first name, Fay said.

Galvin said Tiller's record as an officer was unblemished.

The last officer killed in the city was John Carrillo, who was killed during a shootout with a then-Sandia National Laboratories physicist in February 1987.

Tiller has two sisters, including one who is a retired Albuquerque police officer. Funeral arrangements were pending.